Tag Archives: Goodwood Festival of Speed

CONCEPT CARS

MG’s Electric Future Arrives at Goodwood with Two New Concepts

Before July’s Goodwood Festival of Speed has even opened its gates, MG is already teasing what could be the most important glimpse yet into its electric future. The Chinese-owned brand, which continues to lean heavily on its British roots, has confirmed that it will unveil not one but two concept cars at the famed hillclimb event—and unlike many auto-show fantasies, both are destined for production.

The first of the pair is a small all-electric hatchback aimed squarely at Europe’s fiercely contested B-segment. While MG hasn’t revealed a name, the company has released enough teaser imagery to paint a clear picture of where it’s headed. The compact EV adopts a smooth, rounded front end free of any traditional grille, while friendly-looking headlights give it a more approachable personality than the aggressive faces increasingly common in the EV world. Around back, sharp LED lighting and a prominent roof spoiler inject a dose of sportiness, and the MG badge has been relocated to the C-pillar for a cleaner, more contemporary look.

Scheduled to arrive in production form in 2027, the hatchback is expected to serve as MG’s fully electric counterpart to the MG2 Hybrid. That places it directly in the crosshairs of a growing list of European rivals, including the Renault 5 E-Tech, Nissan Micra EV, Volkswagen’s upcoming ID. Polo, the Cupra Raval, Mini Cooper Electric, and Peugeot E-208.

MG is keeping its second concept firmly under wraps, describing it only as an “electric design vision.” The vague wording may sound like classic concept-car marketing speak, but MG has already confirmed that this vehicle, too, will evolve into a production model. According to the company, it previews a “desirable future model” that will further expand the brand’s increasingly EV-focused lineup.

The concepts won’t be the only attraction at MG’s Goodwood stand. The manufacturer plans to bring a broad selection of current and upcoming models, including the MGS9 PHEV, MG4 EV, ZS Hybrid, HS PHEV, Cyberster roadster, and the IM5 sedan introduced last year. Several of those vehicles—including the MGS9 PHEV, MGS6 EV, and Cyberster—will tackle Goodwood’s legendary hillclimb, providing visitors with a chance to see them in action rather than simply sitting under show lights.

In a move that sounds appropriately futuristic for an EV-heavy showcase, MG’s exhibition area will also feature interactive robots designed to entertain and engage visitors throughout the event.

The full story, however, won’t be told until July 9, when both concepts make their official debut. The presentation will be led by MG’s global design chief, Jozef Kaban, whose résumé includes influential work at brands ranging from Volkswagen to BMW. If the teaser images are any indication, Goodwood could mark the beginning of MG’s next major push into Europe’s rapidly expanding electric-car market.

Source: MG

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BMW Art Cars Take Center Stage at the 2025 Goodwood Revival

This September, the Goodwood Revival will look a little more like the Tate Modern than a racetrack. From September 12–14, the Earls Court Motor Show will play host to five of BMW’s legendary Art Cars—rolling sculptures that have been blurring the lines between speed and creativity for half a century.

Since 1975, the Bavarians have handed over some of their most iconic metal to artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons, and David Hockney, asking them not for horsepower or lap times, but for art. The result? Twenty wildly different interpretations of what happens when you let imagination loose on a chassis. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the BMW Art Car Collection is on a global tour, and Goodwood Revival is its latest stop.

The Five Stars of Goodwood

1976 | Frank Stella’s BMW 3.0 CSL
Known as the “Batmobile” in racing circles, the 3.0 CSL was already legendary before Frank Stella got his hands on it. He covered its body in a stark grid of black-and-white lines—part blueprint, part hallucination—that echoed the mechanical soul beneath. With a 750-hp engine and Le Mans credentials, it was less canvas, more predator.

1977 | Roy Lichtenstein’s BMW 320i Turbo
Pop Art exploded onto the grid a year later when Roy Lichtenstein applied his signature Ben Day dots and comic-strip lines to the 320i Turbo. The car itself raced at Le Mans with Hervé Poulain—the man who dreamed up the Art Car concept—behind the wheel. For Lichtenstein, it wasn’t just a livery, it was a narrative: the painted horizon lines suggesting speed itself.

1982 | Ernst Fuchs’ BMW 635 CSi
Dubbed Fire Fox on a Hare Hunt, Ernst Fuchs’ 635 CSi was the first Art Car to start from a production vehicle rather than a race-bred machine. Its surreal imagery—flaming, mystical, almost gothic—was a departure from the pop stylings of earlier works. Fuchs made the everyday 6 Series into something mythological.

1995 | David Hockney’s BMW 850 CSi
When David Hockney turned the 850 CSi into a canvas, he decided to peel back the skin. Painted outlines reveal what lies beneath—engine parts, a driver silhouette, even a stylized vent. It’s not so much decoration as X-ray art, an invitation to look deeper into a grand touring coupe that was already complex.

2010 | Jeff Koons’ BMW M3 GT2
The most recent of the five, Jeff Koons’ M3 GT2 is a burst of energy frozen in lacquer. With vibrant streaks of color exploding across its body, the car looks as if it’s breaking the sound barrier even while parked. Built to compete at Le Mans, it embodies Koons’ knack for spectacle—unapologetically loud and kinetic.

Why It Matters

The Goodwood Revival is normally about tweed caps, pre-war racers, and nostalgia-fueled paddocks. Dropping five vividly painted BMWs into the mix sounds almost sacrilegious—but that’s the point. These Art Cars remind us that automobiles are more than transportation or even engineering marvels. They are cultural artifacts, blank canvases onto which an era projects its obsessions.

BMW’s collection, spanning from the analog growl of the 1970s to the digital optimism of the 2010s, tells a story of how art and technology have danced together over the decades. For Goodwood’s vintage crowd, it’s a reminder that speed has always been about more than lap times—it’s about expression.

This year, then, the Revival won’t just echo with the sound of carburetors and straight-sixes. It’ll pulse with color, dots, grids, flames, outlines, and streaks. For a few days in September, Goodwood will prove that sometimes, the most powerful thing a car can do is stand still and make you feel something.

Source: BMW

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Lamborghini Sesto Elemento Stuns at Goodwood—Now Road-Legal Thanks to Lanzante

One of the loudest—and arguably most exhilarating—appearances at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed came from a car that was never supposed to see public roads: the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento. Built as a purebred track weapon, the ultra-rare Italian hypercar has now been transformed into a road-legal marvel, thanks to the UK-based performance specialists at Lanzante.

With only 20 units ever produced, the Sesto Elemento (Italian for “Sixth Element,” a nod to carbon’s atomic number) has remained a unicorn in Lamborghini’s storied lineup. Originally unveiled in 2011, it redefined lightweight performance by embracing advanced carbon-fiber construction at a time when most manufacturers were still flirting with the material. The result? A featherweight figure of just 999 kilograms, paired with a snarling 5.2-liter naturally aspirated V10 and Lamborghini’s signature all-wheel-drive system.

At Goodwood, the modified Sesto Elemento was the only road-legal version in existence—and it made its presence felt. Its aggressive soundtrack echoed off the hay bales as the V10 unleashed its full 570-horsepower fury up the hill, captivating crowds with both its auditory drama and otherworldly silhouette.

Converting a track-only prototype into a street-ready machine is no easy feat, but Lanzante has built a reputation for precisely that kind of wizardry. The firm, already known for road-legal conversions of the Pagani Huayra R and even Formula 1-derived machines like the Red Bull RB17, has now added the Sesto Elemento to its portfolio of bespoke projects.

According to Lanzante, the conversion was somewhat eased by the car’s 15-year-old platform. “Being from 2011, it only had to meet the standards of that era,” said a company representative in an interview with CarBuzz. Still, Lanzante had to make a series of critical updates to comply with road regulations, including functional lighting, emissions compliance, and even the addition of air conditioning. To make everyday driving feasible, the team also installed a nose-lift system to help the low-slung hypercar tackle speed bumps and steep driveways.

Mechanically, the road-going Sesto Elemento remains largely unchanged from its track-focused roots. That means it still packs the same Gallardo-derived 5.2-liter V10, paired with a six-speed automated manual gearbox and carbon-fiber everything—from the monocoque chassis to the suspension components. The use of forged carbon throughout not only cut weight but gave the Sesto Elemento a distinctive and futuristic aesthetic that has aged remarkably well.

The Lanzante-converted Sesto Elemento is expected to remain a rare sight, but it won’t be the last. The company has confirmed plans to produce at least one more road-legal version, meaning the once-impossible dream of driving this carbon-fiber missile on public roads is now very real for a lucky few.

For enthusiasts and collectors alike, the presence of a road-legal Sesto Elemento marks a full-circle moment. A track-only fantasy from the last decade has now joined the modern supercar canon as a usable—albeit extreme—road machine. At Goodwood, it wasn’t just about sound and speed; it was about history, engineering, and the will to defy limitations.

Source: CarBuzz